8' bed (tough as nails to find ... and I had been looking every day for 2 months in a 200mi radius)

6" Fabtech lift

Line-X bedliner

Outlaw CAI

Flowmaster 50 series muffler

Mechanically sound

Cons:

12"-14" gash in passenger side rear quarter panel

Shot passenger side pitman arm

Dead passenger side window motor

Dead tow haul button

White paint on leather seats (which I've since cleaned/removed)

Coffee stains all over rear carpet (both sides -- which again, has been cleaned/removed)

Bald 35" tires

Not regeared after 35" tires put on it (i.e. probably transmission issues coming)

Age at time of purchase: Nearly 8 years old

Mileage at time of purchase: 131,444

Price at time of purchase:

Asking price was $12,000 for the truck (as-is) from a wholesaler

I negotiated down to $10,500 for it based on things that were wrong with it

I traded my (paid-off) 01 Silverado Z71 LS (in perfect condition w/ 110k miles and new tires on it) for a value of $7,500

I paid the remaining 3k in in cash

Monthly payment: None other than the usual costs of a) ownership (i.e. fuel and maintenance) and b) my modding habit

Other considerations:

I had to invest time/effort to fix/upgrade the things I could, myself ... and also shell out cash for tires, body work, paint work, etc. before I had what I'd consider an acceptable vehicle.

There was one point where the truck was undrivable for three solid weeks due to work I was doing.

By the time the clean-up was done, the repairs were in place, and the wheels, tires, nerf bars, sound deadening, electrical upgrades, and audio system were in place to get the vehicle reasonably close to what it resembles (appearance-wise), today, I was in for about 15k (total, including the initial $10,500 price of the vehicle) after 3-ish months of ownership.

This truck was a diamond in the rough that just required a little polish. For my money and time I was able to shape the vehicle into my vision of what a truck should be ... rather than paying each month for GM's vision of what a truck should be.

[MENTION=50075]SurrealOne[/MENTION] I started it because, when I see a new/used but nice- truck driving past me I always wounder the payment difference. How much will I be looking at in the future for new. I know everyone has to think and wounder what they pay difference between him and the next guy because, I know there could be a $100 difference from just going to the state next door. Some areas get better rebates than others. So, Just wondering how far does the spectrum go? Everyone is usually scared or to private to talk about what they spend (on anything).
See here most of us really don't know each other so we have a better chance to see.

2004 Chevy Avalanche z66 122,400 miles on the odometer. The sticker said 13,999 and talked them down to 10,500 due to passenger window running slow, driver power seat not moving up nor down, three different tires even tho two tires where brand new and same pattern, also told them they didn't have to clean it any first. I put 2,000 down and my payments are 271.83 a month for 36. Not sure what my interest rate is through my bank.

@surreal your transmission will be fine, but your 3rd and 4th clutch bands will be shot. You could always go no lockup converter and save your transmission wear and tear. That's what I did with 35" tires versus a regear.

I just bought my 2010 4WD ext cab a few months ago. Im not sure of the exact price but it was right around $24,500 give or take a few hundred with 14,000 miles.

I traded in my powerstroke that was falling apart mechannically and luckily they didnt drive it enough to notice any of it. Got $9500 for the truck and put down another $8000. Difference of around $7000 and i took a 5 year loan so the payments are only 160 a month but I occasionally pay double or randomly throw $500 towards principle so it will be paid off in 2-2.5 years.

I know my interest rate is pretty low like around 3% becuase if I took the full five years it was only going to be like $800 in interest so I could not pass it up